N1819U, the aircraft involved in the accident, photographed in January 1977
Accident
Date
July 19, 1989 (1989-07-19)
Summary
Uncontained engine failure resulting in loss of hydraulics
Site
Sioux Gateway Airport Sioux City, Iowa, United States 42°24′29″N96°23′02″W / 42.40806°N 96.38389°W / 42.40806; -96.38389
Aircraft
Aircraft type
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10
Operator
United Airlines
IATA flight No.
UA232
ICAO flight No.
UAL232
Call sign
UNITED 232 HEAVY
Registration
N1819U
Flight origin
Stapleton International Airport, Denver, Colorado
Stopover
O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois
Destination
Philadelphia International Airport, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Occupants
296
Passengers
285
Crew
11
Fatalities
112[a]
Injuries
171
Survivors
184
United Airlines Flight 232 was a regularly scheduled United Airlines flight from Stapleton International Airport in Denver to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, continuing to Philadelphia International Airport. On July 19, 1989, the DC-10 (registered as N1819U) serving the flight crash-landed at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, after suffering a catastrophic failure of its tail-mounted engine due to an unnoticed manufacturing defect in the engine's fan disk, which resulted in the loss of many flight controls. Of the 296 passengers and crew on board, 112 died during the accident,[a] while 184 people survived. 13 of the passengers were uninjured. It was the deadliest single-aircraft accident in the history of United Airlines.[3][4]
Despite the fatalities, the accident is considered a good example of successful crew resource management. A majority of those aboard survived; experienced test pilots in simulators were unable to reproduce a survivable landing. It has been termed "The Impossible Landing" as it is considered one of the most impressive landings ever performed in the history of aviation.[5]
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^Cite error: The named reference ntsb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Annual Review of Aircraft Accident Data, U.S. General Aviation, Calendar Year 1998" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. p. 19. NTSB/ARG-03/01. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 15, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
^Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 N1819U Sioux Gateway Airport, IA (SUX)". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
^Ranter, Harro. "United Airlines". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
^Peterson, John (October 31, 1989). "Test pilot says safe landing of United jet was impossible". United Press International. Archived from the original on August 27, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
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